Hot Chocolate and Bothered
by Lovely Phoenix
Summary: Beth, labeled the wannabe on national television, seeks the refuge of her favorite local cafe to calm herself down. There, she bumps into a familiar stranger, who, of course, yells at her. Set five to six years after the first two seasons.


**Wooooooow, it has been a long, long time since my last update on anything fanfiction wise-and this is outside of my regular fandoms, nonetheless! Whoops? Total Drama Island because man, Netflix hooks me on everything. Most likely more to come.**

**Definitely some OOC, but, then again, it's set five-six years into the future and I assume any teenager would change a bit in that time. Especially with Beth's confidence growing and growing throughout the two seasons we had her. Bless.**

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_The wannabe._ The more Beth said it in her head, the more she realized it was true. Her fists clenched. Her head pulsed.

In a flash, she had yanked her coat on and left her apartment. She lived in the big city, moving away from the farm the first opportunity she got, almost three years ago—and the big city was a cold place this time of year. She couldn't bear to watch the trite examples of wannabe footage from five years ago.

Trudging down the street, her feet took her in the direction of a cafe on the corner of the street, reaching there in a matter of just minutes. She flung the door open and immediately walked to the counter to buy an extra large hot chocolate and a couple of cookies. Times like these were when she missed home. When she could sit by her lonesome and focus on whatever she wanted to do. When her father would bring home animal crackers whenever he knew she was upset.

She turned with her drink and snack and smacked straight into a broad chest, padded by a luxury winter coat. Thankfully, her drink hadn't spilled on him.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

She squinted, stepping out of the way. "Sorry..." She mumbled, certainly sincere, but not really happy about his attitude.

He went to order as she left to take her seat somewhere in a corner.

"Beth..?" The griping voice said, now sounding full of familiarity and a tone of untapped emotion. She blinked at her cookies and glanced up.

"_Justin!?_" She cried, standing up hurriedly, as to attempt to lessen the large height difference between them, increased only by her sitting.

He waved a hand and sat across from her seat, motioning for her to sit back down again. He furrowed his eyebrows, an expression she hadn't seen on him very often. "Sorry about that earlier. Something had me in an off mood. Been forever since anyone's really seen you other than a few of us, though."

She plopped back down in her seat, and suddenly felt a wave of self-conscienceness looking down at her cookies. A sigh came out though her nose, and she sipped her hot chocolate. What she did in front of 'Eye-Candy' didn't matter too much to her anymore anyway. Or, she countered herself, it shouldn't.

"I've been busy." She answered, not really knowing what else to say to him. He'd never exactly made a point to see her either.

He gave a short nod and drank from his own order. She wondered whether it was coffee or not. He didn't seem like the kind of person to drink anything too sweet. Her eyes involuntarily found the wetness whatever he was drinking left on his lips. She felt sixteen again, sweaty palms and all.

It's just Justin, she told herself. He's not going to care what you do now because he's only sitting here in the first place because he felt bad about yelling at you.

Wait.

Did he feel bad?

"Justin." She smiled a little, her sixteen-year-old self still buzzing inside of her, wondering if she'd finally caught Justin in a position of regret. Remorse.

"Hm?" He bit into a smidgen of a brownie.

"What bothered you so much? You said something put you in a bad mood."

Something seemed to click in his brain. He squinted harshly at his drink, sipping from it. "Beth, did you know they're airing some silly 10th season celebration show? How ridiculous is that?"

Beth blinked, not expecting him to care about that at all. "I...yeah. They talked for almost twenty minutes alone on season one...Is that...were you watching?"

"Yeah, I was watching!" He cried, slapping a hand on the table. He was so riled up about it! And he had been complimented!

"Beth," He said, "A wannabe."

Her face fell entirely, but she could tell he was just getting started with a rant.

"_A wannabe._ As if it's a bad thing! Beth, they made you look like a fool! For ratings! They made your desire to fit in a freak show, like they would never want to! There's _nothing_ wrong with wanting to fit in, Beth." Beth this, Beth that. She sipped her steaming chocolate drink, her cookies forgotten. "Beth, did you even watch it? They made a spectacle out of everyone! We were just teenagers! We didn't know anything but how much we wanted to win! You can't judge us after, what, six years? That's six years to change!"

"Have you?" Beth cut him off quickly, not wanting him to call her a wannabe again.

He seemed confused. "Have I what?"

"Changed, Justin! Have you changed? What do you think about what they said about you?" She downed the last of her hot chocolate.

"Eye-Candy." He sighed. "Beth, that's all I've ever been. We all expected that title."

It was Beth's turn to slam her hand down on the table. "Justin, we both know that's what's bothering you. I haven't seen you in five years and_ I_ know that's what's bothering you. Let's not pretend I'm stupid." She broke the edges off of one of her abandoned cookies.

A sigh escaped his lips. He finished his own drink and propped his head up on his hand, supporting it on the table. "Beth, what do you think? I'm a jerk. All I've got going for me is my looks."

She shook her head, waiting for him to say something that didn't apply an insult to himself.

He was silent.

She flicked a cookie bit into his face. "Justin, don't be dense. You're a great guy when you're not constantly trying to get everyone's attention. You know it." She smiled.

"But doesn't it bother you, at least a little bit?"

"Would I be sitting here ten minutes before they close if it didn't?" She snorted, "It may bother me, but that doesn't mean I'm really _concerned._ There's a big difference, you know. That's what my mom always said."

He seemed to take it into consideration before nodding.

It was only when he spoke did she notice she'd been watching him.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Beth." He smiled. A genuine smile. In that moment, she knew that Justin was definitely of good heart.

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**Thanks for the read, mateys! Like I said, more to come! Jeeze, I really can't get enough of these guys, though.**


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